I'm in the ZONE!

After experiencing a dry spell, it's nice to spend a few consecutive hours painting where things are all "coming together". While I enjoy it for the most part, painting the pages for The Biggest Family in the World can seem like a marathon - so much detail to paint, where I am accustomed to painting big, fast and loose (unlike my lifestyle of course ;).

I was working on painting a Kenyan vehicle called a manatu - the "taxi" that Charles Mulli started his multi-million dollar business with. The vehicle is full of people being transported by a smiling Mulli - people sitting on top, hanging on the back, and chickens flying out of an opened cage...I'd show you a picture of it, but it would spoil the surprise...

To loosen up between long painting sessions, I've been working on some portraits that will "accompany" the book. The latest is a beautiful young girl who had been rescued by the Mully Children's Family. The original photo that inspired me is from one of the many photos Paul Boge (author of the book) took on his January 2013 research trip to Kenya.

The Biggest Family in the World - a new children's book based on the life of Charles Mulli, planned for publication in 2014. This is a blog chronicling the book's creation from the perspective of the artist.